Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Blinn · 08-16-2002, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mageth:
<strong>The footprints are interesting, but are far too easy to fake. Hence the need for other evidence to back the claims.
</strong>

Are they? Please explain to me how they are faked. I don't think I could do it. Not to pass the scientific scrutiny of a primate anatomist, anyway.

[ August 16, 2002: Message edited by: Zetek ]</p>

Mageth · 08-17-2002, 10:21 AM

Are they? Please explain to me how they are faked. I don't think I could do it. Not to pass the scientific scrutiny of a primate anatomist, anyway.

This excellent article reflects my position:

<a href="http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-03/bigfoot.html" target="_blank">csicop on Bigfoots</a>

From the article:

Quote:

...With sparse hard evidence to go on and no good standard by which to judge new evidence, it is little wonder that the field is in disarray and has trouble proving its theories. In one case, Krantz claimed as one of the gold standards of Bigfoot tracks a print that "passed all my criteria, published and private, that distinguishes sasquatch tracks from human tracks and from fakes" (Krantz 1992). He further agreed that it had all the signs of a living foot, and that no human foot could have made the imprint. Michael R. Dennett, investigating for the Skeptical Inquirer, tracked down the anonymous construction worker who supplied the Bigfoot print. The man admitted faking the tracks himself to see if Krantz could really detect a fake (Dennett 1994).

Krantz certainly isn't alone in his mistaken identifications. One of the biggest names in cryptozoology, Ivan Sanderson, was badly fooled by tracks he confidently proclaimed would be impossible to fake. In 1948 (and for a decade afterward), giant three-toed footprints were found along the beach in Clearwater, Florida. Sanderson, described as a man who "was extremely knowledgeable on many subjects, and had done more fieldwork than most zoologists do today" (Greenwell 1988), spent two weeks at the site of the tracks investigating, analyzing the tracks, and consulting other experts. He concluded that the tracks were made by a fifteen-foot-tall penguin.

In 1988, prankster Tony Signorini admitted he and a friend had made the tracks with a pair of cast iron feet attached to high-top black sneakers. J. Richard Greenwell, discussing the case in The ISC Newsletter (Winter 1988), summed the case up this way: "The lesson to be learned within cryptozoology is, of course, fundamental. Despite careful, detailed analyses by zoologists and engineers, which provided detailed and sophisticated mechanical and anatomical conclusions supporting the hypothesis of a real animal, we now see that, not only was the entire episode a hoax, but that it was perpetrated by relatively amateur, good-natured pranksters, not knowledgeable experts attempting, through their expertise, to fool zoological authorities."

(emphasis mine)

[ August 17, 2002: Message edited by: Mageth ]</p>

Blinn · 08-18-2002, 02:35 AM

Ok, I can't let this thread die without putting this up-

I guess this whole Sasquatch thing could be chalked up to a monkey in a man suit...

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08-18-2002, 02:35 AM	#43
Blinn Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 1,162	Ok, I can't let this thread die without putting this up- I guess this whole Sasquatch thing could be chalked up to a monkey in a man suit...

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